annie ross Annie Ross Sings a Handful of Songs (double CD, £10.95)

label: el

The legendary Annie Ross is arguably the finest jazz singer Britain has produced.
 She first came to prominence in 1952 with her song Twisted, a satire on the world of psychoanalysis,
sung in the style of vocalese. In the late 1950s Ross teamed up with Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks
to form a trio that would take vocalese to new heights of accomplishment. From 1957, they recorded
seven successful albums informed by Lambert’s gymnastic vocal arrangements, Hendricks’ impish jazz
lyrics, and, as writer Will Friedwald put it, “Annie Ross’ vocal muscle.”
 Exhausted by touring, Annie departed Lambert Hendricks & Ross in 1962 to resume the solo career that
had begun a decade earlier, and over the ensuing years she collaborated on albums with such masters
as The Modern Jazz Quartet, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker and Zoot Sims.
 A Handful of Songs was recorded in 1963; a highly accomplished album arranged and conducted by
Johnny Spence under the guidance of producer John Barry. It is typical of the high standards
established by Barry during his tenure as 'associate producer and creative A&R man' at Ember, when
the cost of his use of the best London studios and recording technicians was consistently justified by
superior artistry, if not always sales.
 Ember could see a future. Annie's album was released in the wake of Chad and Jeremy's first American
hit, Yesterday's Gone, and the UK chart success of Anthony Newley's controversial satire on the
Profumo scandal, Fool Britannia. It failed to emulate either commercially, though it generated great
critical enthusiasm.
 This two-cd edition combines A Handful of Songs with A Gasser!, where Annie is joined by Zoot Sims
and Bill Perkins on tenor, pianist Russ Freeman, and guitarists Billy Bean and Jim Hall and by the
original London Production of the surrealist musical, Cranks, the brainchild of choreographer John
Cranko, with music by John Addison, a set designed by John Piper, a production in which Annie
features alongside Hugh Bryant, Gilbert Vernon, and a young Anthony Newley.
 The set is completed by selections from the Lambert Hendricks & Ross albums, The Swingers, High
Flying and Sing Ellington and by the song ‘Let’s Fly’, which Annie wrote when she was just 14 and still
in school. She submitted it to a contest for a chance to have Johnny Mercer record the winner. The
panel of judges comprised Mercer, Dinah Shore and Paul Weston. ‘Let’s Fly’ won, and was recorded by
Mercer with the popular harmony vocal group, The Pied Pipers, in 1945.